A former teacher and running coach at Cherry Creek High School in Greenwood Village, Colo., has filed a federal lawsuit accusing the school district of retaliating against him for reporting sexual harassment and discriminating against him for his military service.
As reported by Denver-based NBC affiliate KUSA, Craig Clark, a U.S. Marine Corps officer and former CCHS coach, alleges he was removed from his position after raising concerns about inappropriate behavior by another coach on the track and field team. The complaint claims the Cherry Creek School District failed to protect student-athletes, punished Clark for speaking up, and violated federal protections for service members.
A former teacher and running coach at Cherry Creek High School in Greenwood Village, Colo., has filed a federal lawsuit accusing the school district of retaliating against him for reporting sexual harassment and discriminating against him for his military service.
As reported by Denver-based NBC affiliate KUSA, Craig Clark, a U.S. Marine Corps officer and former CCHS coach, alleges he was removed from his position after raising concerns about inappropriate behavior by another coach on the track and field team. The complaint claims the Cherry Creek School District failed to protect student-athletes, punished Clark for speaking up, and violated federal protections for service members.
Per the reporting of KUSA's Janelle Finch, Clark said that in April 2023, several athletes, including his daughter, told him they had experienced unwelcome physical contact by an assistant coach. Clark reported the allegations to school leadership, but claimed he was met with resistance.
"As a dad, having my daughter experience this in a sport we share and love together, it really, it was hard," Clark told KUSA. "Secondarily, it was about my sixth year coaching at the high school, and I felt like we kind of let the student-athletes down."
According to the lawsuit, the students’ concerns were initially dismissed, and Clark’s working relationship with the head coach and administrators deteriorated soon after, Finch reported. Clark described being marginalized and targeted for raising the issue, which he believes directly led to his termination as both coach and teacher. He said he wrote these concerns in a formal complaint to athletic director Jason Wilkins.
"The other coaches in the preseason stop speaking to me. Head coaches are isolating me," Clark said. "At which point, I file a written complaint with Wilkins that went to the district human resources."
Though the accused assistant coach was eventually suspended following an internal investigation, Clark maintains that school officials failed to offer emotional support to the affected students, according to the complaint. Some athletes reportedly quit training sessions to avoid further contact with the coach.
“We weren’t checked on,” Clark's daughter Caroline said. “We were just expected to go back to practice as if nothing happened.”
She said the head coach made her feel unwelcomed in the following year of competition to the point where she transferred schools, Finch reported.
Clark said his daughter also was denied a varsity letter. He said tensions escalated after preseason training in January 2024 at Mile High Sports Camp, which is run by the school's athletic director. A month later, Clark was let go from his coaching role. The termination came just nine days after he filed his formal, written complaint.
Then, in May 2024, just prior to his military deployment, he was also terminated from his cross-country coaching duties and teaching position, Finch reported.
The lawsuit alleges Clark was denied reemployment rights following a previous military deployment. He contends that the school district failed to comply with federal law protecting service members returning to civilian jobs.
A spokesperson for Cherry Creek Schools said officials reject Clark’s allegations.
"This issue has already been investigated by the Department of Labor and no USERRA violations were found," the spokesperson told KUSA. "Mr. Clark was non-renewed due to concerns about his judgment. We strongly dispute all of the allegations made in the complaint."
The lawsuit names the school district, individual administrators, the athletic camp, and multiple staff members as defendants.
"The number one thing I would like to see is that culture of silence change where the staff and students are afraid to speak out," Clark told KUSA. "If someone speaks out at CCHS, there’s a feeling this brings by the leadership, this tarnishes a reputation. So they do everything they can to squash that down."
"There are so many people who are scared to speak out, and the district is making it seem like if you speak out, there are going to be consequences that will affect you and they’re trying to silence us," Caroline added. "I think I just want to show that I won’t be silenced and for the people who can’t speak out, I still will."
